This invention relates to a connector for mating and demating modular units to a platform structure.
The potential for servicing satellites in orbit in order to lengthen their useful lives and to upgrade or change their functions has been demonstrated with the exchange of a section of the Solar Max spacecraft by astronauts in the space shuttle orbiter bay. In the future, equipment that provides for major spacecraft functions can be housed in modules, commonly known as orbital replacement units (ORU's), that can be attached and detached, as needed. Such equipment includes sensors, tape recorders, computers, transponders and batteries, among others.
The flexibility and cost-effectiveness of the module exchange process are improved by making it entirely autonomous using such mechanisms as the remote manipulator system (RMS) presently used on the space shuttle orbiter, and the Intergrated Orbital Servicing System being developed (for the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center) as part of the concept design of an orbital maneuvering vehicle (OMV). The trend toward dependence on robotic rather than astronaut activity places exacting demands on the mechanisms that interconnect the modules to the structures that carry them. For instance, the attachment mechanism must cooperate with a robot arm to insure alignment, provide a stable mount for delicate instruments, and act as a path for the flow of electricity, data and fluids, while maintaining simplicity of operation. This interface needs to be a standard part of the ORU, meeting the different requirements of a variety of instruments and equipment.